


If I Could Burn This Town (I Wouldn't Hesitate)

by justaglitch



Category: Assassination Classroom, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: 200 years into the future, Aizawa is Tired and Suspicious, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Assassins to Heroes, BAMF Akabane Karma, BAMF Shiota Nagisa, Blood and Violence, Ex-Government Agent Irina, Ex-Government Agent Karasuma, Except the bus ride took 200 years, Explicit Language, Fake Quirks, Gen, Guns, I'd say canon timeline for BNHA but it rly derails, Illegal Activities, Italian Mafia, Knives, Multilingual Irina Jelavić, No Beta, Parental Irina Jelavić, Parental Karasuma Tadaomi, Post-Canon Assassination Classroom, Secret Organizations, Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko is Not a Villain, Spies & Secret Agents, There's like 27 kids getting adopted so, Time Travel, Undercover Missions, Yagi Toshinori | All Might Bashing, and it was actually paralysis, field trip!, he's not a very good teacher admit it, hmu if u wanna fix my atrocious works :), illegal adoption, irina and karasuma are a very background ship, it could even be seen as platonic, it's bakugo so, just a tiny bit, just some cussing, kind of?, minor OCs - Freeform, poor guy, so not the funnest field trip, they're the mom and dad of 3-E
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:55:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29772357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justaglitch/pseuds/justaglitch
Summary: 'Two hundred years is a long time.It feels even longer when you’ve spent those two centuries paralyzed but conscious, trapped in your own body as time moves on without you-- no aging, no moving, no sleeping.---During this period, there was a part of Nagisa that had wondered if they’d be stuck like this forever. Truly a different kind of torture.But for those two hundred long years, he had learned. He’d observed, he’d listened, and he’d remembered.And Nagisa waited.'Society's changed, and Class 3-E will need to adapt if they want to survive in this world of heroes and villains. Good thing they're not just any class.
Relationships: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Class 1-A, Akabane Karma & Shiota Nagisa, Class 1-A (My Hero Academia) & Class 3-E (Assassination Classroom), Class 3-E & Class 3-E Teachers (Assassination Classroom), Irina Jelavić & Karasuma Tadaomi
Comments: 114
Kudos: 248





	1. Bypass

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from 'Choke' by iDKHOW. Go listen to it!
> 
> Boku no Hero Academia and Assassination Classroom belong to Kohei Horikoshi and Yusei Matsui respectively.
> 
> Italics: Flashback

Two hundred years is a long time.

It feels even longer when you’ve spent those two centuries paralyzed but conscious, trapped in your own body as time moves on without you-- no aging, no moving, no sleeping.

Nagisa Shiota knows this now. He also knows that his fellow Class 3-E members feel the same way. Most importantly, he knows that the man who has kept them in this state is going to free them today. 

The man was called Shiro, once upon a time. 

He goes by a different name now, but in the eyes of Class 3-E, he’ll always be the man who had experimented on their beloved late teacher. Nagisa still remembers the vivid relief he’d felt when Shiro had hit the weaponised barrier surrounding their classroom and (seemingly) disintegrated. He also remembers the horror of finding out that Shiro had survived using an active invulnerability quirk. Only one percent of the population had shown quirks back then, but with Class 3-E’s luck it figures that Shiro would be able to plunder the abilities of others. Not that the class had known that at the time. 

  


[][][]

  


_ It had been an accident. A small and confused child, an uncontrollable quirk, a group of teens with two of their teachers on their way to visit a mountaintop grave… It hadn’t been a big deal, then.  _

_ Not until said quirk was stolen-- before it could be reversed-- by a face they’d come to know all too well.  _

_ Shiro had demanded to know if the class were unconscious and unaware of the outside world. It was a stroke of luck that the child hadn’t known much about their new quirk and had stammered out a quick, unsure affirmative. (Nagisa wasn’t even sure the kid had fully understood the question.)  _

_ Shiro had killed the kid and their parent, the only two eyewitnesses. He’d taken the frozen kids to his base and separated the teens from the two adults.  _

_ The years had come and gone, a mind-numbing experience. Society changed around them, which they noticed when Shiro began using more words like ‘hero’, ‘villain’, and occasionally ‘One for All’. Quirks became the norm, and the ‘freaks’ were now those without them, not those with. _

_ Nagisa had done his best to keep his mind sharp-- carefully observing the part of the room visible to him, memorizing everything Shiro had said to his plain little assistants, and playing mental games with himself. He could only hope the rest of the class was doing the same. It had been the only thing keeping Nagisa from teetering over the edge of insanity. That, and the fact that he had been lucky enough to be frozen with his eyes open. All the same, there was a part of Nagisa that had wondered if they’d be stuck like this forever. Truly a different kind of torture. _

_ But for those two hundred long years, he had learned. He’d observed, he’d listened, and he’d remembered.  _

_ And Nagisa waited. _

  


[][][]   
  


When Shiro unfreezes him, Nagisa drops to his knees. His body may have been preserved, but his mind is unused commanding his legs to support his weight. Shiro doesn’t bother tying up the students. He has an abundance of quirks, after all, while the teens have none. He gathers all of the “confused” students into one room and stands at the front. His face has changed. Melted off, more like, which the teens know is the fault of All Might: Japan’s number one hero. His voice, though… his voice is the same.

“I’m sure you all have many questions. Before you ask them, however, I have some things to say.” Shiro flicks his gaze around the room, blank face turning toward each student’s eyes for a millisecond. “You all are going to need to stay here for some time. You see, I took the liberty of finding all of your parents, who were affected by the same quirk as you all. It doesn’t seem like it, but you have been frozen in time for around two hundred years.” His voice is soft and sympathetic. He’s a good actor. Nagisa can read people, though-- it’s always been one of his strengths. 

Although he knows it’s coming, his breath involuntarily hitches when Shiro says, “You could see them again, you know. Your parents. One of my assistants is nursing them back to health, so stay with us until then.” 

That’s right. He thinks they have no idea what’s going on.

Maehara raises a trembling hand. Nagisa can’t tell if the shaking is real or forced. “Um, sir, will you let us stay here then? Until they heal?”

Yada’s small voice adds, “please?”

Good. Nagisa hadn’t been the only one planning out the best course of action, then. He’s so glad his class has faced the dangers they did in Class 3-E.

“Of course,” Shiro says kindly. “My name is All for One, but you may call me Sensei.”

  


[][][]

  


_ “That’s right, like my own little army I can call upon whenever I need them.” _

_ Shiro had been talking on the phone. Nagisa would never find out who was on the other end, but that didn’t matter. He and the rest of the frozen students could gather important information from Shiro’s words. _

_ “No, none of them have quirks. It’s better that way, though. They’re all skilled, but still disposable.” He'd paused as the person on the other end of the line spoke. _

_ A chuckle. “They were trained by The Reaper. They pose no threat to me, but they’ll be good minions.” _

_ He'd hummed at the response he got. “Simple, I’ll give them the need to stay. They can… ah, let’s see, I’ll let them visit their parents and siblings or something.” _

_ Nagisa had strained his hearing as Shiro walked out of the room, laughing. _

_ “No, all their immediate relatives died years ago. They don’t know that, though. They can’t risk leaving if they think there’s still a chance.” _

_ It wasn't surprising, but that hadn't made it hurt any less. _

_ Nagisa couldn’t even cry. Not in the state he had been in. _

_ He thought he would have, though, if he hadn't been frozen. _

  


[][][]

  


Nagisa ends up rooming with Karma, Sugino and Kimura. Shiro had acted apologetic about the cramped arrangements, but Class 3-E had insisted that it was fine with the grateful reassurances expected of a group of uncertain teens being helped by a kind stranger. (They’re glad he looks different now. At least he isn’t aware that they know exactly who he is.)

They subtly check for security cameras as they set up their futons: one in each room save for the bathroom and a microphone in each of the main living areas and kitchen.

There are three exits in the building they’re in-- a front and back door, and a balcony door with a fire escape on the second floor. Nagisa counts twelve windows, three of which are too small to crawl out of. There’s a small chemical lab on the first floor; it’s locked but Nagisa can see through the window portion of the door that the room contains the largest window (around eight by four feet). He makes a mental map and memorizes it.

The day crawls by. Shiro is civil, but the students can see past his facade. They know far more about him than he realizes, after all. 

It’s the second day when things get put in motion.

Karma, Nagisa, Itona, Nakamura and Okuda gather in Itona’s room as night approaches. They huddle together, looking to anyone watching the security cameras like frightened children finding comfort in one another. 

“Itona?”

“It’s done.” Itona angles his phone screen away from the security camera, allowing the others to steal a peek. Ritsu winks at them from the screen. “I shut my phone down earlier that day, before we froze, so I was able to turn it back on. I’ve also tinkered with it several times to add battery adjustments. It should last until… morning, maybe 7:00 or 8:00. Longer if I keep it off when we’re not using it.” Nagisa is so glad they have a gearhead among them. Nobody else’s phones work, so they’re reliant on Itona’s for now.

“What’s our window of time?” Karma asks. 

Itona turns back to his screen. “Ritsu?”

“From 11:00 until 1:00.”

“The rest of the class is ready?”

“I’ve informed everyone of the plan. Karasuma and Irina are in the room at the end of the hall on floor 2, I’ve seen them in the cameras. They seem tired but unhurt. Once I got past the encryptions, I sent a morse code message with the blinking light on the camera to inquire about their health. Irina blinked back that they were disoriented but unhurt. As for bindings, they are both handcuffed and the door is locked from the outside.”

Nakamura’s lip twitches upward. “Shiro is really underestimating them, huh? Karasuma probably has lockpicking materials in his shoes  _ and _ sleeves. Same with Bi-- Irina.” Nagisa can’t help but smile a little bit as well. It’s been a while since he’d heard her real name. After Korosensei’s death, the class had collectively decided to drop the (admittedly affectionate) nickname. 

“Ten bucks says it’s because they don’t have quirks like he does,” Karma adds.

Okuda clears her throat. “We’re straying. Does everyone remember their parts?” They nod. “I was able to scour the lab through the screen. Maehara stood between me and the camera, so it should look like we were just conversing. He has what I need. It’s--” she glances at Itona’s phone-- “9:32. One and a half hours to go. Ritsu, have you relayed the plan to Irina?"

Ritsu salutes cheekily. "Yes, ma'am! I also gave them the time, so they should be able to keep counting." 

"Good. Their door is the same as ours, other than the lock?" 

"Yes. Kurahashi says it’s hickory… one of the more durable woods. But with Karasuma, it shouldn't be a problem!"

Karma giggles. “You guys. We’re talking about defeating a quasi-immortal, ridiculously overpowered ‘sensei’. This is… turning into somewhat of a habit, don’t you think?” 

They share a small laugh before quieting. He’s not wrong.

Nakamura takes a deep breath. “Look, I know we agreed this is the best time for this, but, it just all feels kind of… rushed.”

Nagisa knows what she means, but… “We’re prepared. We’ve got backup plans too, remember?”

Itona nods. “Besides, you heard what he said-- it has to be tonight."

  


[][][]

  


_ “Hey, you,” Shiro had called absentmindedly, snapping in the direction of his assistant. His face had been glued to his screen. “Which one is the muscular guy with the bicolored haircut?” _

_ The assistant had consulted his clipboard. “Terasaka Ryoma, sensei.” _

_ Shiro had made a considering hum. Nagisa hadn’t liked the sound of that.  _

_ “He will likely be one of the best candidates for the test nomu. They’re all quirkless, so if my predictions are correct, they will be able to fit more quirks than my other experiments before losing brain function. Terasaka, though, he’s the tallest and heaviest. His body should be able to handle the strain of a couple strength quirks, and if it works…” he’d grinned, the expression particularly creepy due to the lack of eyes and a nose. “He’ll be one of the heaviest hitters in Japan. The male teacher is also an ideal candidate, but… he’s too skilled and unpredictable to let out of the room now. Maybe if I combine a couple students…” he’d broken off, mumbling, before straightening. “That’s right… killing All Might… it’s within reach. I can feel it.” Shiro had absently touched what was left of his face. “It’s almost time. We’ll unfreeze the brats tomorrow, and in… four or five days, my preparations should be complete. We’ll take him to the lab then, the one across town.” _

_ The assistant had nodded and written something down. Shiro had walked past each frozen student, inspecting them with a smug tilt of his lips. He’d looked triumphant as the thought of having a small army of these ‘nomus’ he’d mentioned-- it had been the look of someone who had complete control over a situation. _

_ If only he knew. _

_ Nagisa had been glad, at the time, that he was unable to move. He was certain that his horror would’ve shown clearly on his face if he’d still had control over his expressions. Science may not have been his strong suit, but this wasn’t hard to understand. Shiro had been talking about turning them into lab rats, stuffing them full of quirks until they were brain-dead.  _

_ Tomorrow, when they would be freed… they had to start planning.  _

  


[][][]

  


It’s 11:09. 

Shiro is working at his computer in the basement where his office resides. 

It’s 11:13. 

Shiro is entering the kitchen for a drink.

It’s 11:14. 

Shiro feels two knives slice down the back of his neck, severing his cervical nerves. 

Why didn’t he sense anything? He catches a flash of blue in his periphery. He falls to the ground. 

That’s okay. These children are foolish. He will not be beaten so easily-- he has several healing quirks in his arsenal. 

He tries to access them.

But why is his head so foggy? Why does he feel so much pain? It’s everywhere. He can’t think straight. Grasping at his quirks is like grabbing a cloud.

He has quirks to fix himself! Why isn’t he fixing himself? ...No, he is, just… too slowly.

He tries to call for his assistant. He’s not sure he can hear himself speak, or if he’s making any noise at all. 

If his mind were clearer, perhaps he’d be trying to figure out what was happening. Perhaps he’d question the wine that he’d just drank, which tasted more nutty than he remembered. Perhaps he’d realize that the camera feed he’s been watching has been on loop for some time.

But between the pain running throughout his body and the fog in his head, he doesn’t. He can’t. He stays on the floor, unable to move, as his vision slowly goes dark.

It’s 11: 17. 

The entire operation takes just seventeen minutes.

  


[][][]

  


The students and their two teachers don’t stop running until they’re at least two miles from the building. As they stop to rest, the teens turn toward their teachers.

Irina’s hair is slightly tousled, her pantsuit clean but wrinkled. Karasuma is holding his left arm carefully. His shoes are also scuffed from kicking down their door. He clears his throat. 

“We couldn’t get there in time because of the assistant. We took his files and left him borderline unconscious, but his quirk had to do with intelligence so I’m sure he’ll figure out a way to get up in around a minute. As for Shiro…” The class holds their breaths. “He isn’t healing properly, but with help from his assistant, I won’t be surprised if he survives long enough to get help. I’m sure he has connections with quirked healers that can also dissipate the effects of the hydrogen cyanide. On that note, good work, Okuda.”

She blushes, peeling off her gas mask. “We got lucky. He had quite the chemical collection in there. I kind of wish I’d taken more things.”

Karasuma turns to Itona. “Can you have Ritsu locate the nearest government building? I’m not familiar with this area, and a lot has changed. We also need to find a place to get clothes and food. As far as we know, it’s just us now-- from our time, I mean-- so it would be pointless to find our old places. We can figure that out later.”

Ritsu gives them directions and they set off.

  


[][][]

  


It’s nearly twenty minutes later when they spot a government office. The students wait outside while Karasuma and Irina head inside. The two teachers return from the building with twin expressions of frustration. 

“It’s no good. We were declared dead ages ago when we were never found, and they’re unwilling to… ‘re-hire’ us due to the fact that we don’t have quirks. They told us to go to a police station to register and get ID’d and such.”

Irina nods. “Between Karasuma and I, we’ve got enough money to at least get a charger for Itona’s phone and some food. Let’s find a library or somewhere else with charging outlets.”

Ritsu raises her hand on the screen. “I’ve just located a building-- a base of the Special Defense Force that’s been abandoned in favor of a better location. My intel says that they don’t remove the entry code for those who’ve died, so both of yours should still work.”

Karasuma straightens. “Perfect. Can you show us the way?”

The base is on the edge of a city called Musutafu. It’s four stories tall, with roof access. 

Karasuma puts in his agent code into the keypad and lets out a quiet sigh of relief when the light turns green. He pushes it open, using a keycard in his pocket to unlock the second door. 

“Woah…” Sugino breathes. Nagisa surveys the interior. 

The room they’re in has a low ceiling, with somewhat drafty air. A tall desk rests in the corner, a thin layer of dust coating the smooth surface. The open doorway leads to a larger room with a staircase on one side and a large table taking up the center. There’s a wall-to-wall whiteboard as well, indicating that it’s a meeting room. Nagisa spots a restroom sign and back door symbol on a sheet of metal hanging from the ceiling.

A couple of his classmates run up the stairs, laughing and whooping. 

Nagisa opens a window and peers up, where Karma grins down at him from the window above. 

“Nagisa!” He turns at the sound of Kayano’s excited voice. She’s at the window next to Karma, which leads to the fire escape running down the building. “There are actual rooms here!”

Good, maybe they can stay here for a while. Nagisa takes the stairs to the second floor where there are three bedroom-sized rooms, two offices and a bathroom. 

“...and he can get us the fake IDs. For now, we can act as the kids’ parents, but…” That’s Karasuma’s voice.

“Twenty-eight, though? No, twenty-seven, Ritsu doesn’t have a body. That’s far too many… but since we’re not in the system, the fake ID’s mean we could just have more than one. We could each have several personas if worst comes to worst.” That’s Irina. “I mean, the kids are mature enough that they don’t always need supervision from the both of us. They’re smart, and… Korosensei taught them well.” 

Nagisa releases his breath quietly. It’s true. If any class can survive in a world where they don’t ‘exist’, it’s probably them. He steps into the room.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

The two turn to him, gazes softening. “Just keep doing as you’re doing,” Irina tells him. “You did great with the escape plan, and your classmates really respect you.”

Karma appears next to Nagisa. “What are we going to do about schooling?”

Karasuma steps forward. “Where we left off, you would be going into high school soon. I know you’re all more mature and experienced than the average teen, what with our  _ situation _ , but we need to get re-integrated into society and avoid suspicion. We can choose those later, and you kids can leave the paperwork and logistics to us.”

Nagisa nods. High school, huh…

  


[][][]

  


_ “Sensei!” Shiro’s assistant had sounded out of breath. He’d run into the room, eyes gleaming. “I’ve just received a tip. Nedzu has asked All Might to teach at UA high school next year!” _

_ Shiro’s eyes had widened before he’d burst into laughter. “Oh, this is too perfect! This is our chance to take him down. If I’m right, and he’s weakening, it shouldn’t be too much of a challenge. Especially considering that I’ll be able to use the students as hostages. Maybe it’s time to think about recruiting… And of course, I can also use the students…”  _

_ All Might? Weakening? That hadn’t sounded good to Nagisa. He’d told himself that when they were free, he’d make sure he’d do what he could to keep society from crumbling.  _

_ He’d seen it nearly happen once, and he wasn’t very fond of the feeling. _

  


[][][]

  


Nagisa remembers this conversation and makes up his mind. He sees a shift in Karma’s expression too, and guesses that he’s remembering the same thing.

At least now he knows what high school he wants to go to.

He doesn’t want to let Shiro hurt anyone else, not if he can do something about it. 

And, well… it’s been a while since he’s gone to school, but he can say for sure that he’s unlikely to forget anything he’d learned that year.

Plus, it wasn’t as if he hadn't spent two hundred years unable to do anything but sit and think.


	2. Genesis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter UA.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys were so kind in the comments of chapter 1 so here’s another one ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡  
> Don't know if the direction this story is going in is what you guys expected/liked, but I'm still figuring things out on my end too :)  
> This chapter is a bit different than the first, but I promise things will quicken and pick up next chapter.

Aizawa Shouta is not easily impressed. 

He’s worked with many heroes and taken down countless villains, and it’s not often that someone catches his eye by exceeding his expectations.

The thing is, Aizawa knows hero society inside-out. This is why he knows that things aren’t black and white, no matter how hard society tries to make them out to be. He’s met many so-called ‘villains’ who wanted nothing more than to feed their starving family, or ones who didn’t know any other kind of life. He’s met vigilantes who were rejected by society and just wanted to help people in the ways they could. And maybe most importantly, he’s met pro-heroes who are more innately villainous than the low-level thugs and criminals roaming the streets. 

There’s one thing that most people have in common, though, and that’s the way they treat quirks. 

In this world, quirks are everything. People tend to let their quirk determine their worth, their usefulness, and their path in life. A lot of it is caused by societal pressures, of course. Someone with a visual ability may be pushed to join the entertainment industry, while those with abilities that make people wary of them are often shunned to the point where they need to resort to illegal actions to survive.

One thing Aizawa’s noticed is that more often than not, people use their quirks to limit themselves. 

He’s seen countless cases of children wanting to become a hero, a policeman, or a doctor, and only deciding not to because their quirk ‘isn’t suited for it’. It makes him groan every time. In the end, those people are limiting themselves, and they shouldn’t blame it on their quirk. After all, he doesn’t see why someone without any special ability at all wouldn’t be able to do any job they wanted. 

All in all, Aizawa has long since been disillusioned about the different sides of hero-society. 

This is why three specific participants in the UA hero course practical exam catch his attention. It’s not because they have flashy, powerful quirks-- quite the opposite. He’s never been a spotlight kind of guy, and these three… they seemed closer to his style of fighting than anyone else.

The first is a slim, athletic redhead. Aizawa checks his file.

Name: Akabane Karma

Birthdate: 12/25

Gender: Male

Middle School: Homeschooled

Quirk: Karma

Quirk Description: Any person who harms him will have something of equal scale happen to their body within the next twenty-four hours

He peers at Akabane’s test scores. A nearly perfect score. Aizawa looks back up to the monitor and finds the redhead again. 

He’s running around the city taking down robots, but it’s not his speed nor his stamina that Aizawa notices first. It’s the quick, efficient way he’s earning points. Forceful jabs to their weak spots, a feint to make one robot destroy another,  _ climbing on top of a two-pointer to steer it into a group of robots… _ Weaponizing the weapons. Aizawa likes this one already.

His quirk doesn’t work on robots, and even if it did, he’d need to get really hurt in order to inflict damage on any of them. 

It’s the first time he’s seen a hero-course contestant completely disregard their quirk, almost as if he’s used to not being able to use it. In a way, it makes sense… After all, it’s a quirk that requires him to get hurt to be of any use.

He turns to the next file that catches his interest.

Name: Shiota Nagisa

Birthdate: 7/20

Gender: Male

Middle School: Homeschooled

Quirk: Bloodlust

Quirk Description: Can emit an unsettling feeling that affects those around him

It’s undoubtedly a useful quirk, especially considering the disorienting factor, but it’s effectively useless against hunks of metal. And yet, the blue-haired boy doesn’t falter. He flits from robot to robot, grabbing scrap pieces of metal to jam into the circuit boards under their ‘arms’. 

Shiota had gotten good test scores as well. Not as good as Akabane’s, but fairly impressive nonetheless. He seems to have done far better on the questions that required logical, real-world thinking and scenarios. Interesting. 

The third participant that Aizawa notices is a girl with long blonde hair. He’d noted her quirk early on while reading the students’ files. It’s a non-combative quirk, and wouldn’t help her at all in this situation. This doesn’t stop her from parkouring over the robots’ heads and knocking them over using their own weight.

Name: Nakamura Rio

Birthdate: 8/24

Gender: Female

Middle School: Homeschooled

Quirk: Night-vision

Quirk Description: Slightly enhanced vision in the dark

Aizawa is slightly suspicious, given that the three teens who have caught his attention have all been homeschooled. Not only that, but the fluid, confident way they move...

They look  _ trained. _

He can’t help it. Aizawa is intrigued.

[][][]

“What the fuck?” Kan’s voice is uncharacteristically quiet. 

The other staff follow his finger, which is pointing to a spot on the screen where two students are laying on top of a fake building with--

“Are those  _ guns? _ ”

“Is that even allowed?”

“Holy  _ shit _ why do those kids have rifles?”

Nedzu quiets the room with a wave of his paw. 

“I checked their files, they both have licenses to carry these specific firearms, given by a government agent. They’re not lethal to humans, however, the bullets are a special material.” He turns back to the screen. “On robots, though…”

Snipe, meanwhile, is practically salivating. “Look at ‘em! Y’all see this? Their aim is better than that of my third-year students!”

Nedzy nods. “If you’d like, I can talk to them about enrolling in your advanced firearms class. They can join the third-years.”

Midnight whistles as a shot from the girl goes straight through a robot’s tread, halting it in place. “I thought aim quirks were pretty rare, though.”

Nedzu chuckles. “Oh, only the boy, Chiba Ryunosuke, has an aim quirk. It’s actually documented as rather weak, indicating that he’s just had a lot of practice. The girl, Hayami Rinka, has a quirk that improves her balance.”

Midnight quiets. It makes sense, remembering how the girl had scaled the side of the building with no fear. On the other hand, she’s never seen someone with such accurate shooting abilities who wasn’t aided by their quirk. 

Nedzu watches the screens intently. 

He takes in the explosive boy with a ridiculous amount of villain points, the timid boy who’s  _ only _ earned rescue points, the two young snipers, and the rest of the ‘homeschooled’ group that’s been showcasing an unprecedented amount of professionalism and experience.

It seems this year will be interesting.

[][][]

_ Karasuma and Irina had looked over the high school applications they were handed.  _

_ They’d flipped through them before looking up.  _

_ “So, quite a few of you want to attend UA, huh?” Irina had called forward those who said they’d apply. “Why don’t we all introduce ourselves and our ‘quirks’ so we can get used to them?” _

_ Karasuma had given a nod. “You can all keep your names. I’ve buried all records of you from the past, so for all intents and purposes, you’re just normal, homeschooled teens that were absolutely not born two hundred years ago.” The class laughs. “You’re all ‘orphans’, and have been adopted by various identities of myself and Irina. We’re both still government agents, by the way.” He’d put air quotes around government agents and Irina had put a finger to her lips in a playful shushing gesture. It was a good thing that Karasuma had been skilled at paperwork forgery and that Irina had some hacking experience. Nagisa, not for the first time, had been glad he had such cool teachers. _

_ Karma had been the first to step up and explain his fake quirk. _

_ “Wow, that’s perfect for a sadist like you,” Nagisa had teased. “Let me guess, you’re going to be the ‘karma’ that gets those who hurt you?” _

_ “Of course,” Karma had grinned. “And if I can’t hurt them back for some reason, you can just do it for me.” _

_ Karasuma had rolled his eyes but then conceded that it was actually fairly smart. “Hopefully it will dissuade anyone from really trying to hurt you.” _

_ Nagisa had gone next. Everyone seemed to like his choice of fake quirk: bloodlust. _

_ “That fits you well,” Irina had agreed. “Brings me back to the time with Takaoka.” _

_ Maehara had nodded. “You can be pretty creepy sometimes. This way, nobody will question it!” _

_ Nagisa had just laughed awkwardly. “I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or not.” _

_ Hayami and Chiba had explained their quirks next, and Chiba mentioned that after hearing of Shiro’s plans, he wanted to join the hero course to protect the UA students. _

_ Aside from Nagisa, Karma, Rio, Chiba, and Hayami, there were some members of the class who had decided to apply to other UA departments.  _

_ “I figure I can keep building things if I join the support course,” was Itona’s explanation. “UA is obscenely rich, so they’ve gotta have some good materials. As for my quirk, I’ve made these contacts that change color. I’ll just put down that I can change my eye color at will.”  _

_ Okuda had shuffled her feet. “I’ve heard there’s also a portion focused on chemical support rather than mechanics. I’d find that interesting, I think. I’ve decided not to come up with a fake quirk and just say I’m quirkless.”  _

_ Irina had hesitated but ultimately nodded. “If you’re sure. Remember that at the moment, quirklessness is extremely rare in your generation. You may become a target for bullies.” _

_ Okuda steels herself. “I can take care of myself.” _

_ Karasuma had to hide a smile. Her confidence had come a long way. _

_ Kurahashi had gone next. Being as empathetic as she is, she’d claimed that she could probably fake a minor emotion-based empathy quirk, meaning that she’d be affected by others’ strong feelings. “Selling beetles on the mountain at Kunugigaoka has made me curious about the industry, so I’ll be applying to the Business Course!” Takebayashi had said he’d join the same course. His inclination toward statistics had made his choice entirely unsurprising. He’d gone with a minor intelligence quirk.  _

_ Yada had slung an arm around Megu. “I was going to do the same, to make use of Irina’s lessons on blackmail, deception, and negotiation, but decided to try for General Education instead. Same with Megu! Starting now, my quirk is persuasion.” She’d winked.  _

_ They’d decided that Ritsu can be Megu’s ‘quirk’, though she’d still talk with the other Class 3-E members with the phones Karasuma had managed to get them. It was a good thing that their base still had supplies stocked up in various places. _

_ The others who’d said they’d be applying for General Education were Terasaka, Hazama, Isogai, and Maehara. _

_ The rest of the class had decided to go to smaller-name highschools in or near Musutafu. _

_ “This is perfect. We have a few of you in a well-resourced school to gather information, not to mention the one that may become Shiro’s target. It’s also good that some of you are staying at lesser-known schools to avoid suspicion.” _

_ Karasuma had hummed in agreement at Irina’s words. “Irina has put down Enchantress as her quirk-- pretty self-explanatory-- and I’ve decided on Enhanced Reflexes. It shouldn’t be too odd, with my training.” _

_ Terasaka had raised a hand. “What about weapons? I don’t know if it’s just me, but ever since the year with Korosensei, I’ve only felt comfortable when I have a knife or other weapon on me.” The class had nodded. They all knew what he’d meant.  _

_ “Don’t worry about it. There’s weapons stored all over the base. I’ll show you where in a moment.” He’d stopped and sighed. “I’m talking about giving a bunch of kids weapons. I sound crazy.” _

_ Irina had let out a giggle. “They’re not just any class, though.” _

_ Karasuma’s gaze had softened. “No, they’re not.” _

[][][]

“Do I really have to wear the tie?” Karma complains. “It takes so long to put on. Maybe I’ll just bring it with me.”

Nagisa sighs and ties it for him. “It’s the first day. At least  _ try  _ to make a good impression.”

“What,” Karma teases, “You don’t think my natural charm is enough?”

“No,” Nagisa deadpans. He ignores Karma clutching at his heart dramatically and instead turns back to his own reflection to adjust his uniform.

They’d been relieved when their acceptance letters came, all five students sitting comfortably in the upper half of the point range for the practical exam and close to the top on the written part.

Itona and Okuda had (unsurprisingly) blew their support test out of the water, and apparently made a rather eccentric friend. The two of them, along with the Management and General Education students, had already left for UA on the early train.

Rio pokes her head into their room and sighs. “Come on, we’re going to be late! Hurry up! Chiba and Hayami are waiting.”

They barely make it on time. Chiba and Hayami part ways with the other three at the Class 1-B door, the snipers’ assigned class. 

Nagisa stops in front of the room 1-A. It’s only a year of assassin training that keeps him from stepping on the yellow sleeping bag that rolls past them into the room. It unzips and a man steps out, turning to the trio that’s still in the doorway. 

“Don’t bother sitting down, we’re all going to the training grounds. Put these on and meet me there.” The man motions to a box on his desk and walks out of the classroom.

Huh. So this is UA.

[][][]

The man, Aizawa Shouta, turns out to be their teacher. 

He announces that they’re going to do a quirk apprehension test, missing the amused looks the 3-E trio send each other. 

Aizawa says the person who comes in last place will be expelled, but Nagisa would bet his left kidney that he’s lying. (As it is, he only bets 500 yen against Rio.)

Not, per say, that he  _ isn’t  _ going to expel whoever comes in last. He just doesn’t think it’s the only criteria. It’s mostly likely going to be time for their teacher to judge their effort, creativity, and potential rather than their current talent level. The statement is to motivate them, to draw out their best performance. Nagisa is sure of it.

Of course, that doesn’t mean he isn’t putting forth his best effort. 

The first test is the fifty meter dash. After seeing a brunette with pink cheeks use her touch-based quirk on her clothes, making them seemingly float, Nagisa has an idea. He whispers it to Karma and Rio, and they nod. 

Nagisa sidles up next to the girl and introduces himself. She says her name is Uraraka. 

“Well, Uraraka, I actually don’t have a quirk that would help me out on these tests, and I was kind of hoping you’d do me a favor.”

When it’s Nagisa’s turn, Karma picks him up by both wrists before moving to the start line. Aizawa is confused but waits. At the ‘go!’, Karma spins around, releasing Nagisa when he points down the track, and…

Nagisa flies like a  _ missile. _

Rio, standing on the other end, catches him with an ‘oomph’ and gives a thumbs up to Uraraka.

“Release!” His time is 3.4 seconds.

The blond boy with explosions dancing in his palms snarls. “What the fuck was that? You think it’s okay to just cheat like that right in front of me? You think you’re too good for the rules, I bet.”

Aizawa pinches the bridge of his nose. “It’s not cheating, Bakugo. That’s called using your brain. Nagisa made the decision to ask for help, knowing that he didn’t have any advantages in this field.” Bakugo scoffs, crossing his arms.

Karma eyes him with a glint in his eye. Oh, no. Nagisa knows that look. That’s his ‘Oh, you get angry easily? It’ll be fun to rile you up, then’ look. It’s often pointed at Terasaka.

The tests continue. Despite being quirkless, the 3-E trio all have good athletic abilities and manage not to drop to the bottom where a freckled boy, a girl with aux cords hanging from her ears, and a boy with a lightning bolt in his hair currently reside.

During the endurance run, Karma has the luck to go after a girl called Yaoyorozu, who’d created a motorcycle to ride. Karma just laughs and uses it for his turn as well. Yaoyorozu looks uncertain of how to feel but settles for a hesitant smile in his direction. She seems surprised but grateful when he advises her to be careful of what she makes during a fight since anything she discards can be taken and used against her. Aizawa eyes the pair thoughtfully, but doesn’t say anything. 

During the ball throw, Karma and Nagisa simply copy the form they’ve seen Sugino use when the boy plays baseball. They get respectable but not particularly impressive scores. 

Rio, on the other hand, has apparently spent the time in between events feeding Dark Shadow, a bird-headed boy’s quirk, with a bag of pears she’d brought to munch on. Dark Shadow, in turn, is all too happy to stand near the circle when Rio launches the ball and give it a good whack as it begins to slow, increasing her score by a hundred meters. Aizawa looks at Tokoyami, who shrugs and says that Dark Shadow does what Dark Shadow wants.

Bakugo seethes the entire time.

When the tests conclude, Karma is in 10th place, Rio in 12th, and Nagisa in 13th. This reinforces Nagisa’s idea that they weren’t just being judged on their performance, since he likely would’ve gotten closer to last place if that were true. The kid in last, Midoriya, bursts into tears when Aizawa (pro-hero Eraserhead, apparently) tells them that expulsion was just a motivational ruse to make them try their best. 

Karma, on the other hand, bursts into laughter at Rio’s scowl. She huffs, pulling out some coins and counting out 500 yen into Nagisa’s hand. Aizawa sighs, rubbing his temples as the rest of the class gapes at the trio. 

Nagisa tunes out the strict boy’s lecture about making bets at school. It doesn’t seem like Aizawa minds much, anyway.

[][][]

Nedzu sits in his office, drinking tea and digesting what he’s just learned about his new students.

He does that a lot. 

The tea drinking bit, he means. After all, he can’t say it’s often that he finds out fourteen of his students, all ‘adopted’ by the same couple under different names, were born over two hundred years ago.

It had been difficult to figure out, but with Nedzu, it’s hardly possible to hide things from him when he gets curious. His hunch had led him to dig around a bit. Once he’d found the original files dating their existence in the time when quirks were an oddity, as well as their 'missing persons' reports, he’d put the pieces together fairly quickly. The lot of them likely didn’t even have quirks.

He sees it now. All of the quirks they’ve listed on their files could be faked one way or another, and yet it would be nearly impossible to prove it.

The question stands: What to do with this information?

He isn’t about to make it public. Not yet, anyway. Who knows what the media will turn it into?

He could confront them about it, or just observe the way things play out. He also wants to meet these kids’ guardians. He wants to know how they got here, what they’re planning on doing, and what their motivations are. 

The thing is, this whole situation is a grand puzzle. 

And if there’s one thing Nedzu  _ loves, _ it’s puzzles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm. Nedzu knows... is this bad or could it be a good thing?
> 
> So, quirks! Some I hope are more obvious, like Karma’s, Chiba’s and Nagisa’s. As for Rio, it’s stated that she can see pretty well in the dark compared to the other students, so I decided that she could fake a weak night-vision quirk. ╮(︶▽︶)╭  
> Hayami is known for her good balance, shown with her upside-down shooting skills and her ability to snipe accurately from various positions. As for Itona, I think he’d definitely make something for his fake quirk, hence the contacts. It makes sense to me that Ritsu could pose as a student’s quirk, similar to Dark Shadow is to Tokoyami, except a digital companion/counterpart. I hope it kind of makes sense.  
> Yada is stated to have been one of Irina’s more receptive students and her talents lie in her deception and negotiation, which is why I gave her a fake persuasion quirk.  
> On another note, the students I booted from 1-A to make room for the three 3-E students are Mineta, Koda and Hagakure. Not because I don't like them (except Mineta, I don't like him) but because I feel that they aren't very major characters and don't play as big of a role. 
> 
> Also, this chapter wasn't very eventful nor secretive/spy themed, but I promise things will pick up next chapter!  
> Ahh are these notes too long? 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying the series, let me know if you want to see more. I always love feedback :D  
> If you got this far, thanks for reading!!  
> Glitch signing off!


	3. Machination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are happening...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! School is kinda biting me in the ass so apologies for the slightly slower updates. I’m also thinking of doing Black Clover’s Black Bull squad for the next Interdimensionals work, tell me your thoughts!  
> Also, wow. I wasn’t expecting this fic to get so much recognition?? Holy shit I love you guys. Stay cool and thanks for still being alive today. You’re all special to me (=･ x ･=)

“ **I am here… coming through the door like a normal person** !” All Might booms, coming through the door decidedly  _ not  _ like a normal person.

Nagisa knows that All Might is the number one hero in Japan, but he’s also incredibly tacky and incredibly loud and Nagisa has an incredibly painful headache. He kind of wants to shush him.

Not that it would go over well.

All Might goes on to explain that for their first hero course, they’ll be changing into their hero costumes and doing battle training. 

_ Yes.  _ This is what Nagisa has been looking forward to. It’s clear that the rest of the class is excited too. He can see Karma and Rio smirking at each other. 

Nagisa can’t say he’s that surprised when he gets some double takes as he walks into the boys’ locker room, but nobody stops him. He’s guessing the uniform he’s wearing is enough.

As he opens his suitcase, nostalgia and pride war in his mind. He pulls out the blue fabric.

All five of the 3-E hero course students had designed their costumes together, and anyone who looked at the group would be able to tell.

Nagisa had based his design on their PE assassination uniforms from Kunugigaoka. 

First, he pulls on a thin, form-fitting navy shirt that covers everywhere up to the top of his collarbones and down to the edges of his wrists where they disappear into tactical gloves with built-in brass knuckles. 

He slides his legs into blue-gray cargo pants with knee pads and multiple pockets, tightening his belt. He pulls a hooded half-sleeved jacket over his head, the same color as his pants. He’d requested the fabric to be slash-proof and fire-proof, and the top jacket had been woven with Kevlar that could reduce the damage of a bullet exponentially. You could never be too safe. 

His combat boots are snug and comfortable, and have little attached knives that slide out of the heel when he flicks them outwards. He also sticks a small skin-toned earpiece behind his ear, courtesy of Itona and Ritsu. The 3-E members had decided to keep in touch without the school’s interference as well.

A tiny golden ‘E’ adorns his collar. 

Karma’s costume is similar, with only small personal changes he’d requested. They also have a vastly different assortment of weapons on them.

“Wow, are you guys planning on becoming a hero duo?”

Karma shakes his head at Kirishima. “We’ve shared a… an unforgettable experience together, and we want to honor it. There are a couple others who’ll look similar. You’ll see.”

They do, see, when Rio steps out of the girls’ locker room in an identical outfit, save for her shorts. 

“ **You all look amazing!** ” All Might declares. Nagisa’s glad he’d had the forethought to pick up some pain medication from Recovery Girl. The ache in his head is already fading considerably. 

All Might explains the rules and has them draw lots. 

Nagisa is thoroughly unimpressed. Why does the pro-hero think this is even remotely a good idea? Other than himself, Karma, and Rio, the Class 1-A students likely have had little to no training before this. And he decides to pit them against each other inside a building far enough that he wouldn’t be able to jump in immediately if there’s a problem.

His students don’t yet have a good understanding of each others’ quirks, nor has he ensured that they know basic self-defense. This seems more like an activity for the second or third week of school.

Not to mention, if Nagisa had designed this training lesson, he’d have organized the teams himself. He sees the merit in them being random, but the match-ups only need to be unknown to the  _ students _ beforehand. He’d separate the students who’d gone to the same middle school to avoid friends who know each other well being paired together, and the same goes for the opposite. After all, any kid holding a grudge could easily use this opportunity to pull something that normally wouldn’t be allowed. 

But, back to All Might. 

Nagisa looks at the name he pulls, glancing around until he meets the eyes of a boy with hair that’s split down the middle-- one side red, one side white. He walks over.

“Todoroki, right? I’m Nagisa, your partner.”

Todoroki studies him before giving a curt nod and turning away.

Damn, okay. 

Nagisa checks who they’re going up against. 

‘Sero Hanta’ and ‘Kirishima Eijiro’, huh?

[][][]

Nagisa’s group is first up. As the ‘heroes’, they’re given time to plan while Sero and Kirishima set up. 

“Just stay out of my way and leave this to me.”

Nagisa stares at Todoroki incredulously. “Seriously?”

“I’m going to freeze the building and you are going to get caught in it if you don’t do as I say.”

Nagisa snorts. “That seems like an awfully quick way to lose the exercise, or at the very least, show All Might that neither of us can work on a team.”

“I don’t need to,” Todoroki says stiffly. “I will be the strongest on my own. I have to.”

Wow, there’s a lot of issues to unpack there. Nagisa points out, “If this were a real life scenario, freezing the building could set off the bomb since we don’t know how it’s operated. We’ll lose the battle trial if you do that. Well,” he amends, “if All Might shows a little competency, that is.”

Todoroki clenches his jaw. “Then what do you propose we do?”

“We make a plan,” Nagisa replies easily. “Both of us.”

“What’s your quirk?”

Ugh. 

“That’s not the question you should ask, Todoroki. You know, my biggest assets aren’t my quirk at all. If the question is ‘what can you do’, I’m skilled in close-combat martial arts, strategy, and can use the various weapons support made for me. My quirk is basically, uh… freaking people out. Don’t give me that look, it’s what it does functionally.”

Todoroki thinks it over. “Okay, then we’ll do this…”

[][][]

Karma watches his friend from the control room. 

“Poor Kirishima and Sero,” he hears someone whisper. “They’ve gotta go against Endeavor's son.”

He feels his lip twitch minutely and turns slightly to face the pink-skinned girl. “It’s not him they should be worried about.”

[][][]

When Nagisa and Todoroki enter the building, it’s from different areas. For one thing, the window Nagisa crawls through is four stories higher than Todoroki’s. 

When he gets inside, he taps his comm to let his partner know.

“I also hear footsteps passing me, heading down to you. Judging by the somewhat clunkier sounds, I’m gonna guess Kirishima. Since he’s coming from above, that means Sero is probably setting up tape traps on the top floor where the bomb is. I’m going in, are you okay with dealing with Kirishima?”

He waits for confirmation before crawling back outside the building, pulling himself up through a fifth floor window silently. He sees Sero staring intently at the one door in the room, stance ready. When Nagisa drops into the room, Sero catches sight of him in his periphery and turns to face him.

“The window? Perfect for a cowardly hero like you,” Sero smirks, getting into the 'villain' persona. “But this is as far as you get!”

He shoots tape from both elbows toward Nagisa. 

Sero’s quirk is mighty useful, but once you know what it is, there are weaknesses you can exploit. 

Nagisa grabs the tape strands, one with each hand. He allows the ends to wrap around each arm before gripping the taut strips between them and yanking,  _ hard. _

Sero shoots forward, surprised, and Nagisa gives him a quick chop to the back of the head.

As Sero lands in a heap on the ground, dazed, Nagisa wraps the capture tape around him.

“ **Sero of the villain te-- Oh, and Kirishima too! The villain team has been captured! Hero team wins!** ” All Might’s voice sounds in Nagisa’s earpiece. 

Todoroki doesn’t speak on the way back to the viewing room, but he does nod once at Nagisa. 

Sero, on the other hand, runs up to him.

“Shiota, right? That was awesome, dude! Didn’t even see it coming!”

“Nagisa,” he responds automatically.

“Hm?”

“Please call me Nagisa. It’s what I’m used to.”

“Okay!”

The other battle trials go about as expected. Karma and Asui beat Jirou and Kaminari quickly and efficiently.

(“What’s up with that,” Jirou had said, awed. “I couldn't hear Akabane’s footsteps, even with my enhanced hearing.”

"Karma," the boy corrects.

"You too?")

Though Mina ends up being beaten by Rio’s team, the two apparently both share a love for gossip and exchange phone numbers after the exercise. 

Everything is fun and light-hearted until Midoriya and Bakugo destroy the building and each other. (And himself, for Midoriya. What kind of quirk breaks your bones?)

Nagisa doesn’t see how All Might hasn’t realized that the match had turned personal the moment the two were paired against each other. He tells All Might his suspicions, pointing out the panic in Midoriya’s eyes whenever Bakugo starts letting off explosions and his instinctual flinch, and All Might agrees to talk to Midoriya.

Nagisa’s not stupid. He sees the way All Might clearly seems focused on the green-haired boy and the way they interact. He looks at the boy in a mentor-like way, a look he’s seen on Korosensei when it comes to the E Class. He sets his suspicions aside for the moment.

[][][]

The cafeteria is filled with chatter.

Nagisa, Rio and Karma enter through the double doors and look around for familiar faces. They catch sight of Irina and Okuda, sitting at a table otherwise empty save for a girl with bubblegum hair and a lavender-haired boy who looks like he hasn't slept since the first quirk wars. 

As they make their way over, Sero calls out to Nagisa. 

"Hey, can we sit with you guys?" 

He shrugs. "Sure."

Sero, followed by Mina, Kaminari, Jirou, Kirishima and Bakugo (who's being practically dragged along by the redhead), join the trio.

When they reach the table and sit down, Itona looks up.

"Couldn't find the oaf?" He hands a swiss army knife to the bubblegum haired girl, who's fiddling with a palm-sized… something. Seems he's found a fellow gearhead.

"The oaf?" Kirishima questions.

"Terasaka, probably." Itona nods, so Rio continues. "He's sitting at a full table with Chiba, Hayami, and the Gen Ed kids."

At this, the tired boy seems to tense minutely. A Gen Ed student, perhaps?

Mei snaps her fingers absently in Itona's direction, still fully focused on her invention. Itona pulls a screwdriver out of his pocket and hands it to her without looking up from his food, taking the swiss army knife back and sliding it into his jacket.

The awkward silence is broken by Mina and Rio giggling at the sight of something at the other end of the cafeteria. They hurry in that direction, whispering. 

Karma turns to Bakugo, who's angrily stabbing at his food. It looks like pork.

"Whoa, buddy, I promise it's already dead."

His teasing voice makes the other boy's head snap up. Bakugo snarls at him, and Karma smiles lazily.

“You know, you kind of remind me of Terasaka, in a way. Brute strength, not much brains, angered easily… sound familiar?”

Kirishima has to hold Bakugo back from taking a swing at Karma.

Nagisa knows that Karma’s just trying to get a rise out of him-- they both know that Bakugo is extremely intelligent. His pride, though… it always seems to win out in the end.

Just as Kirishima loses his grip on Bakugo, a loud alarm begins to blare. They’re told that it means someone breached the school’s security. 

Nagisa shares a look with Karma and the two of them slip away into the crowd. 

Once they’re out of the chaotic cafeteria, they ask Ritsu on Karma’s phone where the intruders are. She tells them that the cameras near the teachers’ lounge seem to have been tampered with.

When they reach the door, a hooded figure steps into a smoky purple mass and disappears. They don’t notice the two students watching. 

[][][]

Knocking on the door labeled ‘Principal’ is scary. Nagisa supposes it’s because of his previous standing at the very bottom of his school in the class called End. Maybe he’d have negative thoughts associated with principals forever.

The first thing Nedzu does when they walk in is gesture to the seat in front of him. “Have a seat.”

When Nagisa explains what they saw to Nedzu, his reaction is not what they expect.

He folds his paws and hums thoughtfully. “I appreciate that you came to tell me. To be perfectly honest with you, I noticed that the camera feed was off as well, and when I entered the system, I noticed a friend who’d snuck in.” He turns around his computer monitor, showing it to Nagisa and Karma.

Ritsu waves back sheepishly.

Oh.

“I suppose now would be a good time to tell you that I know of your secret.” 

Nagisa and Karma tense but don’t make any other movements. 

“You can relax. I’m not going to do anything about it.” The  _ yet _ remains unspoken but hangs heavily in the air. “In fact, I’d like to propose a deal. Would you mind giving a call to your legal guardians? That way I can ask you all at once.”

Once Karasuma and Irina are on the other end of the line, the phone in speaker mode, Nedzu begins.

“I was initially intrigued when all of the students that were ‘homeschooled’ according to their files were all extremely impressive in the areas they tested in during entrance exams. It wasn’t until I dug deeper that I found older files-- extensively buried, well done by the way-- that dated your births a couple centuries ago. I brushed off the similar concerns a colleague of mine showed and hid the files from him.” 

Karasuma’s doubtful voice sounds through the speaker. “Why didn’t you tell anyone else?”

Nedzu grins, and the boys lean back at the sight of his tiny, sharp teeth. “It’s more fun to keep these puzzles to myself.”

Nagisa shakes his head to try to clear all thoughts of how unhinged his principal looks. 

Irina sounds as distrustful as her pseudo husband. “What do you want from us?”

“Like I said, I’d like to propose a deal. On your side, you’d get full discretion and protection from myself. I’d stop anyone from snooping into your past business, as well as help you obtain any resources you may need.”

Karma narrows his eyes. “And in return?”

Nedzu looks him in the eye. “I have two requests. First of all, based on what I’ve seen, you and your companions are experienced and intelligent. I’d like you to protect my students. There are many pro-heroes teaching here, of course, but it would be lovely to have someone looking out for them in the times that they can’t.” He taps a nail against the smooth wood of his desk.

“And the second demand?”

“Request,” Nedzu corrects. “And it’s this: I still have no knowledge on how you’re here when you were all born when quirks first began appearing.”

His eyes glitter as he leans forward, the tilt of his snout greedy for knowledge.

“I want to know  _ everything _ .”

[][][]

Once Karasuma and Irina agree to Nedzu’s deal, not seeing much of a choice, he leans back in his seat. 

“Now that that’s settled, there’s some things we need to be ready for. I’d like to hear your story, but right now there are more pressing matters to discuss.” His gaze darkens a bit. “When I noticed the camera that was tampered with, Miss Ritsu here helped me clear out the fake footage and we were able to see what happened in the teachers’ lounge. The figure, whom I was unable to identify, used their quirk to make copies of several documents, including the schedule of Class 1-A, the lesson plans and notes for our upcoming field trip to the USJ for rescue training, and perhaps most notably… The plans for this year’s Sports Festival. It’s not a stretch to assume that someone is planning to attack UA, for reasons unknown. If the documents they took are any indication, we should be prepared for multiple attacks. Though we may not know who’s behind them, we do know where and when they’ll attack, if at all.”

After a muffled, unintelligible exchange on the other end of the phone, Karasuma speaks. “We have information. A tip, of sorts. It may not be the person we are thinking of at all, but it’s entirely possible that a man we are…  _ acquainted _ with has the goal of killing All Might and wants to use his position here against him.” Nagisa watches Nedzu scribble something down.

He hums, looking pensive. “Someone from your past, huh?” He leans forward and Nagisa can see steel in his eyes. 

“I’m listening.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you can tell that canon is about to be pushed through a meat grinder :)
> 
> Okay I know nobody cares but someone I know got me a bunch of adorable BT21 stickers so now I have VAN chilling on my phone case and it's so cute ⊂( ´ ▽ ` )⊃
> 
> Anyway, if you got this far, thanks for reading!!  
> Glitch signing off!


	4. Operation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know the drill, italicized text is in the past.  
> This chapter isn't quite as long, but it's fairly packed.  
> Also, I feel the need to say that listening to Revolution 9 in the dark is what an existential crisis feels like :P  
> You guys… you’re telling me that a thousand people have read IICBTT??? And some of you even liked it????? As a baby writer this makes me way too happy so you’re all my buddies now (っ˘▽˘)(˘▽˘)˘▽˘ς)  
> I’ll do my best to finish the next work of Interdimensional within the next couple days, and then the next chapter of this work should be out before next week. (no promises though)

“Are Karma, Rio and Nagisa all absent today?” 

Midoriya startles at the question, glancing at their empty seats before turning back to Asui.

“I guess… I’m surprised, don’t we have a field trip today?”

Asui nods, tapping her chin. “It doesn’t seem like something they would skip. I hope nothing’s wrong.”

Aizawa sighs. “Nedzu has informed me that they have business with him and will join us later at the USJ. They’re fine.”

Bakugo’s mind, meanwhile, is racing. There’s something off about those students. Not to mention, a meeting with Nedzu? What could those extras have done to earn his attention? The year’s barely started.

As Aizawa reassures his students, the pro-hero’s mind wanders to his conversation with Nedzu. The principal had waved away his suspicion, only saying that he had some things to discuss with the students. He’d promised to fill Aizawa in later, when he needed to know.

Aizawa internally winces.

Nedzu’s plans, though… sometimes it was a better idea to stay out of them.

[][][]

_ Nedzu’s voice had suddenly turned impossibly sharp. “He called himself  _ what _?” _

_ “All for One,” Karasuma had repeated. _

_ A beat of silence. Nedzu had released a long breath and steepled his paws. (Karasuma had talked with him over the phone, but he was still adjusting to the sight of the… mouse? Bear? Stoat? Whatever the principal is. He’d been trying, for the past hour, to ignore Irina’s taps on her chair spelling out in morse code how much she wanted to pet Nedzu and how soft he looked. It had been very distracting.)  _

_ Sitting here with Irina made him feel like this was a parent-teacher conference. Only, Nedzu was the superior and he was one of the pseudo parents.  _

_ “All for One is somewhat of a legend in the underground. I would say myth, but I know that he is very much real. A colleague of mine was severely injured by him a few years ago.” _

_ “We knew him before we were affected by the quirk, when he still went by Shiro. He’s always been formidable.” _

_ When they’d told the principal how they’d escaped, his eyes had hardened and he’d seemed less than pleased.  _

_ Not, Karasuma guessed, because of what they did to Shiro. Rather, it was likely that what gave Nedzu pause was the fact that it was a class full of young teens that had seemingly no issue with poisoning and stabbing a man.  _

_ “Some of my students heard him planning ways to stop us by force if we’d asked or tried to leave. He also had a quirk that would alert him if we were to do so much as step outside. There wasn’t another way.” Karasuma had wondered if he’d looked as stiff as he’d felt. _

_ Irina had seemed tenser than usual beside him, as well. “With all due respect, Nedzu, if we hadn’t escaped when we did, our students would have been turned into lab rats. We had no choice. Trust us on that.” _

_ Something had flashed in Nedzu’s gaze at the mention of ‘lab rats’. After a long pause, some of the tension in his shoulders had dissipated. “I believe you. I do hope you can understand some of my concerns.” _

_ “Of course. However, Class 3-E will bring no harm to anybody at this school.” Irina’s gaze had softened almost imperceptibly. “They’re good kids, and they’ve been through a lot together.” _

_ Nedzu had let them finish their story before asking them to bring willing members of their class to his office the following day. _

_ “We can get started planning for the USJ attack when they’re all here. I’ve notified Aizawa that we’re pushing the trip back an hour. We may need to inform him of your circumstances for extra security, as he can help if the rest of Class 1-A starts to get suspicious. He’s a trustworthy man. However, I’ll leave that decision up to you.” Irina and Karasuma had looked at each other and nodded. They’d consider it. Nedzu had continued. “If the attack is connected to All for One-- or Shiro, as you call him-- his goal is to kill All Might. While to most it may seem unattainable, the man is crafty. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s able to weaken Number One, at the very least. I want to avoid that, so I’m going to arrange for him not to show up until the villains are dealt with. There’s also the small chance that these ‘Nomus’ you mentioned are already usable in this attack. Do you have a counter if this happens?” _

_ Karasuma had nodded. “As of right now, Nomu do not have free thought. They’re more like mindless beasts, only following orders from their master. All we need to do is take out the one giving the orders, and they become harmless.” _

_ “Very well. Do you have the weapons and materials you need?” Karasuma had shaken his head. “Alright. I’ll pull some strings and I can have them ready in time. Since we’re going for minimal casualties, I assume tranquilizers will do?” _

_ Karasuma assures him that tranqs are perfect. “It’s a good thing the class has experience with combat.”  _

_ As they’d stood up to leave, Nedzu had given a little smile, eyes glittering. _

_ “Oh, and Miss Irina, I’m quite flattered that you think I look soft-- it’s the keratin, you know? However, I do my best to avoid actions such as petting. That would imply that I’m a… domesticated creature. And I assure you, I’m anything but.” _

_ Irina could believe it. _

[][][]

“Everyone in position?”

“Yep,” Rio responds through her adhesive comm. “Gender, Semi?”

Karma snickers. So they’re using their old codenames, then. 

Nagisa sighs.

“We’re both ready, English. I’m heading to the control room now.”

Once he gets there, he listens to Nedzu’s instructions, one hand at the tiny device behind his ear. 

Nedzu tells him to use the fingerprint sensor. 

“It’s the reason I scanned your prints when we started planning,” he explains. “I’ve already added you to the database, so you should have access.” 

He’s proven right when the surveillance screens, as well as a panel of bright keys and labeled mechanisms, whir to life. He pushes the buttons, pulls the levers, and adjusts the knobs Nedzu instructs him to, and slowly, the USJ changes. 

The water is drained out of the flood section in a foamy spiral. The conflagration zone and avalanche zone are deactivated and stabilized, and the temperature in the large dome evens out.

Despite their hopes that they can take care of this quickly, they want to make sure that the villains don’t have anything they can use to their advantage.

By the time everyone is in position, it’s nearly the point when Class 1-A would have arrived if they’d kept their schedule. 

It takes eight minutes for something to happen. 

“Down there, in the plaza.” Nagisa’s voice has the assassins snapping to attention. 

On a screen, Nagisa can see a smoky mass coalesce in the center of the building. The first person to step out of the mist is a figure wearing formal clothing and an intricate mask. They’re followed by a bulky, tall creature with an exposed brain and a beak. As it stands awkwardly by the masked figure, as if waiting for orders, Nagisa realizes what it is. 

“There’s a Nomu here,” he whispers to Nedzu, although there’s no way for anyone to hear him from outside the control room. He shudders, realizing that it could have been Terasaka, or any of them, down there. “It seems to be obeying the masked person.” A large cluster of people with menacing expressions spills out of the portal, and he hears Nedzu hum.

“From what I can see on the monitor that I’ve connected with, I recognize some of those faces from police reports. They seem to be street thugs and common criminals, mostly. Not particularly powerful on their own, but crafty enough to escape arrest. My guess is that they were supposed to have dealt with the students while the Nomu took on All Might.”

The group spreads around, presumably searching for the students they’d been told would be there.

In about five seconds, most of the thugs are on the ground unconscious, victims of a certain pair of snipers’ exceptional aim. Rio sends tranquilizing arrows at the remainder, her marksmanship allowing her to graze their bodies without causing much damage. For having such little practice with a bow and arrow, she’s startlingly capable. 

Hinata then drops from a high up beam and takes care of the rest, agile body flipping around as she slashes at the confused criminals. They crumple one by one, hostages to the paralytic agent coating the knives. 

Soon, the only figures standing are the smoky purple figure, the masked person and the hulking, beaked beast. 

Before the masked figure can regain their bearings and order the Nomu to act, an arrow from Rio flies toward them in the air. They quickly lift a hand, and to Nagisa’s frustration, as soon as their fingers graze the weapon it turns into a teal marble and drops to the floor. 

“Kurogiri,” The smooth, masculine voice starts, presumably directed at the one with the warping quirk. They don’t get to finish their sentence.

As the figure follows the trajectory of the arrow to see who had shot it, a marble-sized capsule rolls to a stop at their feet. Before anyone can react, it bursts, sending a large cloud of gray smoke straight into their face. 

Apparently, and luckily, the mask is just for show and serves no function against gas. The person slumps to the ground, unconscious. 

The purple misty mass hovers for a minute before scooping up the stationary, blank Nomu and the masked figure and vanishing.

“They’ve escaped. On the plus side, we have some criminals we can question and arrest.” Nedzu doesn’t sound too bothered, just thoughtful. He’s probably relieved the operation was quick, clean, and resulted in no casualties on their side. 

They’ve also gained some good information.

Kurogiri, warp quirk. 

Unknown name, marble compression quirk.

Nomu, which they’d known likely had multiple quirks and of which they now know the size and appearance of.

“I wish I could’ve used the chili gas instead of the modified anesthetic,” Karma complains.

“You made  _ chili gas _ ?” There’s horror in Hinata’s voice.

“Okuda made it for me, actually.”

Nagisa sighs. “Okuda, you have to stop enabling him.”

She just snorts good-naturedly. “It’s entertaining, though.”

A sharp inhale from Ritsu has Nagisa checking his phone. 

“This is bad,” she mutters. “Bad, bad…”

“Ritsu? What is it?”

She pulls up a scan. “Look at this. I knew I recognized the look of it’s skin. This is an evaluation of the Nomu’s exterior. It’s a match.”

Nagisa’s confused. “With what?”

“Who,” she corrects. “And… Korosensei. The Nomu’s been injected with anti-matter. I don’t know how we never figured this out. If my predictions are correct, it should have the same abilities-- super speed and regeneration included. It likely has more quirks as well, like enhanced strength for example. The only thing it lacks is free will and autonomy.”

Korosensei, when he’d been the Reaper, had been quirkless. Shiro had said that quirkless bodies can accept more quirks without losing brain function. If the goal was to have a way to  _ control _ the overpowered creatures, to ensure that they’d follow orders, while being as powerful as possible… that could only mean one thing.

Korosensei had been a failed Nomu.

[][][]

_ “What should we call this place?” Rio had wondered out loud. It had been the first time someone brought it up. “I’ve been saying ‘Base’ in my head, but wouldn’t that sound weird to anyone listening?” _

_ She’d made a good point.  _

_ “You could just say ‘home’ or something,” Isogai had suggested. “Saying something like HQ would be even more suspicious.” Rio had pulled a face.  _

_ “It’s more like a hideout than anything. Before we cleaned it out, it was barely better than an abandoned building.” _

_ Maehara had snickered. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because it  _ was _ an abandoned building.” _

_ He’d deserved the book thrown at him, Rio swears.  _ _   
_ _ As they’d argued over the specifics of the work they’d done to turn the place into something respectable as a living space, Irina had poked her head into the room from their kitchen (which wasn’t technically a kitchen yet, but they were working on it).  _

_ “It reminds me of when you guys had to remodel that school. You were all running around carrying things like little busy bees!” _

_ “Bees fly, not run,” Hazama had pointed out helpfully. Kurahashi, on the other hand, had gasped, snapping her fingers. _

_ “That’s it! The Hive!” _

_ “Huh?” _

_ “Get it? Busy bees, so our home can be the Hive! Like a beehive!” _

_ “That’s stupid,” Hazama had said, but she’d been interrupted by Irina’s squeal.  _

_ “That’s cute, I like it!”  _

_ Nagisa had accepted, then and there, that their place was now the Hive.  _

_ Once Irina makes up her mind, there’s rarely a point in fighting it. _

_ “By the way,” Rio had asked curiously, “How are we going to deal with the kitchen situation? Government bases don’t really need them, and it’s not like we can just hire a renovator when this building is supposed to be empty.” _

_ Irina had given a sly smile. “I’ve been working on contacting some… old friends. Or their relatives, at least.” _

_ Kimura had furrowed his brows. “Uh, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re, like… in the future. I don’t think I even remember the names of my great-grandparents, let alone anyone beyond that in my family tree.” _

_ She’d brushed off his words. “Oh, let’s just say that these people place a lot of importance in family trees.” _

_ Well, that wasn’t suspicious at  _ all. __

_ “What, you make it sound like you know an Italian mafia boss or something,” Maehara had snorted. _

_ Irina had closed her eyes and hummed. “Dimentichi che conosco dieci lingue.” _

_ Ritsu translates: “You forget that I know ten languages.” _

_ Oh. _

[][][]

Nedzu has some police he’s got connections with come pick up the unconscious thugs littering the USJ floor. They’re handcuffed and led away for interrogation as they wake up. 

Unfortunately, they don’t know much about their employers, just that they were aiming to kill All Might and were paying the criminals to deal with the students. 

Just as Nedzu had hypothesized.

Nagisa stretches an arm above his head, hearing one side of his spine crack satisfyingly. Chiba grimaces and inches away. 

As everyone gathers at the edge of the USJ, Ritsu pulls up some stats she’d collected. 

“From what we know, the Nomu, while injected with anti-matter like Korosensei, likely has vast differences in it’s skillset. When Shiro turned ‘The Reaper’ into ‘Korosensei’, there weren’t enough quirks strong enough for him to create all of Korosensei’s abilities. He was most likely able to manufacture and manipulate a few quirks on his own. On the other hand, quirks are now common enough that he could have skipped that phase entirely on this Nomu. We know that their goal is to kill All Might. Assuming that Korosensei was a sort of prototype, it seems like Shiro wants to make them as powerful as him but still lacking the autonomy to escape or disobey him.”

Hayami fiddles with her sniper rifle. “What do you think its abilities are?”

“My guess is that since speed made Korosensei practically invulnerable, it likely has a form of superspeed. However, I believe it isn’t as powerful. The smart thing for Shiro to do if he wants a heavy hitter to go up against All Might would be to sacrifice a bit of speed for some strength quirks, maybe even a type of shock-absorbtion or shock-nullification quirk. They would be the most useful when going up against All Might. I’m also assuming that with the inability to think for itself, mental quirks can be taken out of the equation when considering what it can do.”

As Ritsu goes into depth about the Nomu’s predicted abilities, Nagisa makes a mental note to buy some notebooks when they get back to the Hive. He should really pick up his note-taking hobby again. It could be useful when separating Korosensei’s known weaknesses from the Nomu’s.

A quiet shuffling noise has the group snapping to alertness. Nagisa sees it the moment Karma does: a patch of the ground seeming to flicker, a faint silhouette of a man visible for a split second. He’s barely five feet from Nagisa.

Camouflage quirk. Fuck. He must have used it to escape arrest when he regained consciousness, meaning he’s disoriented but unhurt.

As everyone whips out their weapons, Nagisa pulls out his tranquilizer handgun and barely has to aim before pulling the trigger. He seems to glitch before fully materializing, a knife falling from his limp hand. 

There’s a collective sigh of relief, and guns and knives are put away one by one. 

“That was close,” Karma comments, trailing off as his eyes slide past Nagisa.

Nagisa stiffens as he hears a hoarse  _ ribbit _ from behind him and slowly turns around.

Midoriya, Todoroki, Jirou, Bakugo and Asui stand there, staring at the group.

Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Code names! I hope you guys picked up most of them. ‘Semi’ refers to Karma’s codename, ‘Semi-Senioritis’, if that was hard to tell. ‘English’ for Rio comes from ‘English Lass’. I know there are a couple different translations of their codenames, so I used the ones on the Fandom Wiki, and for Nagisa I used ‘Gender’ from the English dub because ‘Androgynous’, the original translation, didn’t sound quite as codename-y to me.  
> Also! I love the idea of Rio with a bow and arrow, so that’s what she gets :) It’s said on official sites that she has some of the best aim among the girls in 3-E, which I wanted to put to use.  
> Irina’s underappreciated in my opinion, so I’m giving her the recognition she deserves. I mean, she canonically speaks ten different languages, you can’t tell me she DOESN’T have mafia connections ╮( ˘_˘ )╭ I don’t speak Italian, that’s all Google Translate, so let me know if it’s wrong in any way!
> 
> Don’t be shy to leave comment, I love feedback!
> 
> Stay safe & stay you, ily all <3  
> Glitch signing off!


	5. Elucidation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some explanations. 3-E clears up some confusion, then adds more :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Week 4 of Interdimensionals is out, go take a look!  
> There are no flashbacks this chapter, but there will be some Italics for a speaker phone-call.  
> This isn't my favorite chapter, but I hope it's still okay :)

Midoriya stretches as he steps off the bus.

The trip had apparently been pushed back, but they’d shown up a few minutes early.

Aizawa moves to talk to pro-hero Thirteen (Midoriya practically squeals, it’s actually them!) and the class devolves into idle chatter.

Midoriya finds himself ranting to Asui about the space-themed hero when Jirou shushes them, squinting and plugging one of her ear jacks into the ground. After a moment, her eyes widen.

“Did Aizawa say we were going to be joined by anyone today?”

Todoroki, who’s nearby, steps closer. “He said it would be just us. Why?”

Jirou hesitates, pointing to a side entrance of the USJ. “There’s voices coming from inside there.”

After exchanging glances, they look at Aizawa. He’s still talking to Thirteen. 

“We should tell Ai--”

“Cowards,” Kacchan sneers, pushing past Jirou to the side entrance. “If there’s a villain, I’ll just blast them to the moon.”

Slowly, the others follow him. Midoriya hesitates, but… what if Kacchan gets inside and has to face trouble alone? 

When he steps through the door, he nearly bumps into Todoroki’s back.

They quietly turn a corner and peek into an archway leading to the interior of the dome. 

The first thing Midoriya sees is a tall, dilapidated building covered in scorch marks. The area in front of them seems to be an imitation of an urban landscape, maybe one that had been on fire at some point. 

Faint voices reach the group from somewhere further down along the curved wall.

“...mental quirks can be taken out of the equation when considering what it can do.”

It’s a feminine voice. After a moment, it continues. “We can’t discount the possibility that the Nomu is only programmed to respond to the showman with the mask, but we need to keep a lookout for anyone else in Shiro’s group who may be able to as well. That’s valuable information, considering that there’s no way the Nomu would just follow anyone’s orders.”

There’s a pause, then a rapid shuffling sound accompanied by a few curses.

A noise that sounds oddly like a muffled gunshot rings, causing Midoriya to stiffen. The group creeps forward from behind the scrap of building to see…

Nagisa, Karma, and Rio. There’s also a few others Midoriya doesn’t recognize.

Is Nagisa holding a  _ gun? _ Are they… are they villains?

Is that a dead body on the ground?

“That was close,” Karma says, voice quieting as he catches sight of the group. 

Asui lets out a  _ ribbit _ .

[][][]

Shit! They aren’t supposed to be here yet!

Nagisa checks the time. They’re fifteen minutes early.

As Bakugo opens his mouth to speak, Karma nudges his way past Nagisa to the front of the group.

He gets right in Bakugo’s face, making sure to meet the eyes of Midoriya, Jirou, Asui and Todoroki as well. His voice is quiet but more serious than Nagisa’s heard it in a while.

“Listen up. Nobody is in danger, this is all approved as part of a deal with Nedzu. If you want answers, keep your mouths shut, and act normal. We’ll explain everything later. If you say anything now, things will get even more complicated. Do you understand?” Midoriya practically wilts under Karma’s intense stare and steady words, stammering out an affirmative. 

Nagisa’s expression is severe as well. He needs them to understand that this has to stay between them for now.

Asui nods, followed by Jirou and Todoroki.

The heterochromatic teen makes a fist. “As long as you tell us  _ everything _ . If we were to ask, would Nedzu say you’re telling the truth?”

“You can ask him yourself later,” Hayami interjects, stepping forward. “But right now, you need to rejoin your class.” 

Chiba nods. “We should get going too. Nagisa, Karma, Rio, you guys head outside. We’ll be out of here in a minute.”

Bakugo tries to protest, but the others herd him toward the door. When they slip into the small crowd of students, Thirteen is giving a speech about quirk use.

The class finally steps into the USJ, none the wiser of what had transpired there just minutes ago.

[][][]

Nedzu sets down his teacup at Nagisa’s soft but urgent voice drifting through the speaker connected to 3-E’s comms.

“Nedzu, did you catch all that? It was Bakugo, Midoriya, Asui, Todoroki, and Jirou. I didn’t see any others.” He sighs. “I wish we’d had more time, I didn’t expect us to slip up so soon.”

“Indeed. Well, it can’t be helped. Bring those five to my office after school, I suppose some explanations are in order.”

“Yes, sir. Have Irina and Karasuma decided whether or not to tell Aizawa yet?”

Nedzu hums. “They’ve agreed. The planned time was going to be next week, though we may need to do it sooner. I’d like to prevent any more mishaps in the future, if possible. Aizawa would be able to help in more ways than one.”

Picking up his phone, Nedzu dials Aizawa’s number. It rings once before he picks up. 

“What is it?”

“Aizawa! I have a request.”

“Hm?”

“Three of your students. Karma, Rio, and Nagisa. If any of them need to leave early or get any emergency calls, let them do their thing. Don’t put too much attention on them during class either, if it can be helped.”

“...This may be the most suspicious instruction you’ve given me.”

Nedzu chuckles. “I promise there's a good reason. I’m currently working some things through with their guardians.” Technically true. “We will fill you in tonight or tomorrow.”

“Alright. Is that all?”

“It is. Thank you!”

Aizawa grunts and hangs up.

Nedzu calls Kan and Yagi to relay the same message.

[][][]

“ _ I’m Miss Sugar Pink, liquor liquor lips… _ ” 

Nagisa fumbles with his phone while the class snickers. Shit, Bubblegum Bitch is his ringtone for Irina. 

Seriously?

“I’m so sorry, Aizawa, I’ll turn it o--”

“Put it on speaker.”

“Huh?”

“Answer the phone,” Aizawa drawls, “and put it on speaker. It did interrupt our lesson, after all.”

Karma and Rio’s laughter doesn’t help at all. He sags and hits ‘answer’.

_ “Nagisaaaaa! Why did that take so long?” _

Nagisa hears a whispered ‘ooh’ from Mina about him having a girlfriend. Ew, no.

“Because... I’m in class?”

There’s an obvious pout in Irina’s voice. “ _ Well, you’re no fun. Anyway! Take Karma and Rio to the Hive, Alessandro is here.” _

“Alessandro?” Wait, isn’t that…

_ “Alessandro Bonacci. Filippio’s great-great-great-great grandson. You know, the mafioso?” _

The room falls dead silent.

Nagisa facepalms. Aizawa tenses but doesn’t speak, making a mental note to get an explanation from Nedzu as soon as school ends.   
“...Right. To help with the kitchen, right?”

Turns out that saving Filippio’s life all those years ago had led to a fast friendship between the two-- one that had obviously been documented, with the message that there was a debt to be repaid. Irina must have spoken about it with Alessandro, meaning they’re likely on good terms. Nagisa’s glad that the Italian Mafia has so much emphasis on family ties.

_“Yep! Among other things, of course._ ” Oh shit, Nagisa hopes she doesn’t expand on that. They don’t need everyone knowing the Italian Mafia is helping them forge ID’s. With how obvious they’re being, Nagisa is shocked they haven’t completely blown their cover yet. _“I’m glad I haven’t forgotten any Italian, it would’ve been embarrassing if I’d been rusty. A beautiful woman like me should know such a romantic language, after all.”_

“Same old Bitch-sensei,” Rio mutters. Unfortunately, Irina hears.

_ “Hey! We are NOT bringing that back, understand? Wait, Rio? Am I on speaker? Can everyone hear me?” _

Nagisa sighs as Karma answers for him. “Loud and clear.”

_ “Aizawa! That’s your name, right? Listen up. You keep an eye on my kids, okay? I expect no harm to come to them under your care.” Her voice loses it’s whiny quality. “Am. I. Clear?” _

“Careful,” Rio teases. “Your Momᵀᴹ is showing.”

Irina scoffs. “ _ As if I’m old enough for that.”  _

As soon as she hangs up, there’s an uproar.

It takes a minute, and some quirk use, for Aizawa to get his students back in their seats. 

He studies Nagisa for a minute before sagging. “You three, you’re free to go.”

“Really?” 

“Nedzu has informed me that you three have special… circumstances. We will be discussing them later, by the way.” 

Nagisa takes in his glare and doesn’t doubt it.

They leave the room and walk down the hall to the opened Class 1-B door.

Kan pauses in his lecture as they knock and peek in. “Can I help you?”

Rio grins. “We’re here to pick up Hayami and Chiba.” She turns to the seated students, finding the two near the back of the room. “Irina called, we need to get back to sort out some things with Alessandro.” 

Chiba and Hayami stand, looking to Kan for permission. He sighs.

“Alright. Nedzu has told me something like this would happen. Will you be returning today?”

Nagisa shakes his head. “We’ll be back when school ends for the meeting with Nedzu, though.”

"Are we bringing the others, too?" 

Nagisa ushers Rio out of the room. "No, they decided on their official status earlier, so we can do the forms for them. Isogai texted me everyone's preferences."

“Grab a copy of the notes on the way out. We’re doing the activity first thing tomorrow,” Kan calls.

“Woah,” Karma whispers. “Your teacher actually teaches?”

Rio snorts. 

[][][]

Nagisa counts out the bundle of cash Alessandro had given him. 

Each student had been given a passport, drivers license (whether they could drive or not), birth certificate with modifications, 100 thousand yen, and a copy of Karasuma’s key to the Hive.

They all had ‘citizenship’ to Italy, as well. Fun.

Karasuma and Irina had been given the same, as well as credit cards connected to a subsection of one of the Bonacci accounts which redirects funds.

Compared to the last time Nagisa had been aware of adoption laws, adults are now allowed to adopt six children. Irina and Karasuma decide to pen their relationship as unmarried so that they can ‘adopt’ twelve of the students altogether. It’s an awkward arrangement, but the remaining 15 students had gotten forms detailing their status as ‘emancipated minors’ with dead parents.

This includes Nagisa, Terasaka, Okuda, Itona, Takebayashi, Hayami and Chiba out of the UA students.

As much as they’d wanted to go the legal route, the sad truth is that it would only make it easier for Shiro to track them down. After all, it’d be difficult to keep the news of twenty-nine ‘missing persons’ from two centuries ago suddenly appearing from spreading. 

Having their real information in the government database, like their birthdays, would make it free information to anyone skilled at hacking. bIt was better to fake it.

The kitchen is around halfway done. Alessandro’s men have already left, but the room is still full of metal parts and smells like paint. They’re coming back tomorrow to finish up.

“Karasuma?”

The man calls something unintelligible from the floor above, so Nagisa hurries up the stairs.

“Karasu-- there you are. Um, I’m guessing you’ve been keeping up with today’s… events?”

Karasuma sighs, shuffling some papers against his desk. “You’re right, I have. Let me guess, we’re explaining when school gets out.”

Nagisa nods. “We have an hour before we should head to UA. Aizawa and the teacher for Class 1-B will be there, as well as the kids who’ve seen us.”

“Who from 3-E is coming?”

Hayami steps into the room. “We were considering having every 3-E student who attends UA to go, but decided that it’s too many people. The five of us from the hero course will go, as well as Hazama, Terasaka and Isogai. The rest weren’t interested in going and just asked to have access to the audio feed.”

“Very well. Let them know we need to leave by 16:00.”

“Right away. How much are we going to tell them?”

Karasuma runs a hand through his hair. “We’ll keep it vague, don’t worry. We’ll say enough to explain what the 1-A students saw, but nowhere near as much as we told Nedzu. He agrees. It’s hard to tell how trustworthy the students are right now.”

[][][]

“Have a seat!”

As the students shuffle into the office, Nedzu pours tea into fancy china cups.

“Is this everyone?”

Karasuma shakes his head. “Hazama, Terasaka and Isogai from the General Education course are on their way. They just got out of class.”

“What do Gen Ed sissies have to do with this?” Bakugo sounds annoyed but his words aren’t as vitriolic as usual. 

“You’ll see,” replies Rio, and Bakugo calms down. 

Nagisa has noticed that Bakugo seems to hold a sort of respect for Rio. She’s one of the few people who can respond to his insults with smooth and witty comebacks, turning arguments into something closer to banter.

You could say she could both dish it out and take it, and Bakugo regarded her in a slightly better light for it.   
When the three arrive, Nedzu begins.

“I understand that you five--” he glances at the 1-A students-- “have seen some things that raise questions concerning these students.” Here, he looks at 3-E.

“I also wanted to explain everything to Kan, Aizawa, and All Might here since they will be teaching you all frequently.”

Nagisa notices how All Might is the only one Nedzu doesn’t call by name.

Karasuma takes over. “I am a government agent, as is Irina here, and we’ve also taught a class of middle schoolers. This includes the students you see here.” He takes a deep breath. “This is where things may start to seem far-fetched, but I assure you it’s true. This all happened over a hundred years ago.”

Despite the watered down length of time, there are confused noises from several people.

“We were all affected by a quirk which froze us in time, and were only recently freed from it. During that time, our captor Shiro thought we were unconscious when in reality, our brains and senses were active the whole time. We used what we learned to escape from him once we were freed, and we’ve been staying together in a building since then.”

Irina nods. “Some old connections were able to help us navigate some of the trickier legal aspects of having been declared dead. When some of our students got into UA, we made a deal with Nedzu to ensure secrecy about our situation as well as provide extra protection to the classes we have students in. As for--”

Bakugo cuts her off. “Why would we need to be protected by kids the same age as us?”

“Because,” Irina emphasizes, “as young as they look, they’ve all had far more time to live and think than any of you. Their emotional and mental maturity far surpasses their physical maturity, and that kind of experience is important.”

Midoriya raises a hand timidly. “Um, I don’t mean to be rude-- promise! I was just, um… thinking about what you said? And if you came from over a hundred years ago, wouldn’t that mean that quirks were only observed in about, uh. Maybe half the population? Less, actually, since they started becoming exponentially more common in each generation?” He flinches as Karma swivels his head to meet Midoriya’s eyes. “Ah! Um. I was just wondering how many of you guys actually have them. Quirks, I mean.” He ducks his head.

Nagisa takes note of how observant Midoriya is.

“Oh, those.” Hazama waves a hand. “None of us.”

There’s a beat of silence. 

“WHAT?”

Nedzu is the only one who remains unsurprised. 

“But then-- hero work is dangerous!” All Might protests. “Quirkless folk such as yourselves should leave it up to those of us who are more capable.”

Nedzu looks disappointed in the hero. Nagisa can relate. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Midoriya shrink in on himself ever so slightly. What’s that about?

Karma rolls his eyes.

“If Eraserhead has to fight a villain with a mutant quirk, is he helpless and weak? If Midnight’s opponent wears a gas mask, should she quit being a hero? Why wouldn’t someone with really good aim be just as good on the battlefield as Snipe?” He clicks his tongue. “Plus, don’t tell me you think you’d lose to pro-hero Lunch Rush or pro-hero Recovery Girl in a fight. Not all heroes are offensive.”

Nagisa hears All Might mutter something about not underestimating Recovery Girl and has to hide a smile.

Aizawa shoots an appraising look at Karma. Nagisa thinks he sees a hint of approval. 

Rio clears her throat. “Nedzu is small and doesn’t have an offensive quirk, but… if I was told to fight him, I’d piss myself.”

Nedzu chuckles. “Too much importance is placed on quirks,” he agrees.

“Despite all that, Nagisa, Rio and Karma did really well on the battle trials,” Asui croaks. “All three of their teams ended up winning. How did you do that?”

Karasuma and Irina exchange glances.

“In our time… we had a difficult situation with a villain.” Nagisa inwardly winces at the word. Korosensei was no villain. “He was powerful, and at the time heroism wasn’t an established profession. Irina and I were two of the government agents assigned to the case, and since the villain had ties to the middle school we attended, we worked with the class to try to apprehend him.”

Hm, yeah, it’s probably better to say that Irina was a government agent and not an assassin. Well, she joined Japan’s Special Defense Force just after Korosensei’s death, so it’s not too far off.

Karasuma continues. “The villain was kept a national secret to avoid mass panic while he was dealt with. The class has the skills they do thanks to training from the two of us. They needed some form of defense, after all.”

Aizawa sets down his teacup. "Was he apprehended in the end?"

Nagisa doesn't think he's imagining the tightness in Irina's voice when she says that he was.

"Did the public ever find out about him? Would I recognize his name, for example?" 

Nagisa surveys the room to see how everyone’s taking this.

Nedzu, the only one with the full story, just smiles serenely and folds his paws together.

The rest are listening with a varied mix of confusion, caution and disbelief.

Karasuma shakes his head. "His name was never released to the public. They got the moon fixed too."

"...I'm sorry?"

"Never mind. Anyway, in the end we got lucky to capture him."

Todoroki's face doesn't change, but his voice is uncertain. "You mean the entire government was barely able to catch one villain?"

_ If only he knew. _

"He had multiple quirks."

All Might pales, and Nedzu gives him a look as if to say,  _ we’ll talk about this later. _ The hero sinks further into his seat.

"How is that possible?" Kan interjects. 

Before anyone can speak, Jirou's eyes widen. She holds up a hand, putting a finger to her mouth.

She writes something down, passing the scrap of paper to Nedzu. It says:

There’s someone standing outside the door, listening. I’m not sure how much they’ve heard, I’ve only just noticed.

Nedzu hums before nodding to Karasuma, who silently steps over and swings open the door. 

“Shinsou?” Isogai looks surprised. “What are you doing here?”

The teen backs up quickly. He looks conflicted about what to say.

Nedzu sighs and beckons him forward. "Shut the door, please. How much did you hear?"

"...Everything since Isogai, Hazama and Terasaka came."

Terasaka narrows his eyes. "Did you follow us?" 

Shinsou lifts his chin defiantly. "I heard you saying something to Isogai about ‘his gun’ near the end of class. Of course I would find that suspicious."

Hazama elbows Terasaka in the side. "Seriously?"

"Ouch," he mutters. "Sorry."

“Speaking of guns, what  _ was _ that at the USJ?”

Nedzu turns to face Asui. “We received an anonymous tip about an attack on the class during the field trip. We pushed it back and had some of 3-E’s students,” he gestures to the group, “as well as their guardians incapacitate the villains that showed up. It was a part of our deal.”

He shifts his focus to Shinsou. “If it’s not clear by now, the weapons they used were all tranquilizers-- functionally harmless.”

There’s a palpable sense of relief. 

Karma snorts. “What, did you think we were a little murder gang?”

Jirou looks sheepish. “Well, I guess that does sound a bit far-fetched…”

Nagisa tries not to think about the profession he almost ended up in. 

That’s a tale for another time.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it was weird to write ‘Kacchan’ instead of Bakugo at the beginning, but since that bit was from Midoriya’s view, it made more sense.  
> Also, prepare, because shit will be going down soon. Likely within the next couple chapters.  
> Personal headcanon that Hara, as the ‘mom friend’, gives out little gold star stickers to 3-E when they do something good :)  
> About the adoption laws: don’t come at me! I have no idea what those will look like years from now. Took a random stab at it. As for the class numbers, I’m not forgetting anyone-- remember that Ritsu doesn’t exactly require adoption.
> 
> If you got this far, wow, why are you still reading lol? Really though, I appreciate it.  
> Take care of yourselves <3  
> Glitch signing off!

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, so. Tell me what you guys think, I guess? Should I continue this?  
> The idea smacked me in the face at two AM so I can’t tell if it’s a good plot bunny or if that’s just my sleep-deprived brain talking.  
> I appreciate feedback! I’m still new at writing, so don’t be too mean (´･ᴗ･ ` )


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